


Sacrifice

by TheBigLoserQueen



Series: God AU [22]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blood and Gore, Confessions, Courtship, Death, F/M, Genderbending, Gods, Het, Human, Love Confessions, Serious, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-26 02:50:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4987246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBigLoserQueen/pseuds/TheBigLoserQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thornstriker gets kidnapped by a cult and rescued by an unlikely being.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sacrifice

Thornstriker didn’t know how she got there or why they had grabbed her. All she could remember was that she and the other women ran for their lives after a hostile cult had attacked their village. Somehow, she had been grabbed and brought here, at the top of an old temple to the God of Wrath, Bloodshed.   
  
It didn’t take long for her to figure out that she was a sacrifice for the god, which made her cry hard into her tied up hands as the cult members had gathered themselves in a large circle around her, chanting some danger words over and over again. She could only cry as the chanting grew louder, shaking violently as she curled up into herself.  
  
She knew about the Wrath God. In ancient scriptures, it read that he was hated humans as they had murdered the woman he loved most. He was a vicious and angry god, wanting to destroy all of humanity for their crimes. Some said he was an enormous monster, dead set on destroying mankind. Supposedly though, offering him the blood of a virgin would appease him, so long as he was supplied it once a month.   
  
Of course, no one knew exactly what that meant. Some interpreted it as death. Other sources claimed that he wanted the heart while another said he simply wanted a cup of blood from her body. This cult, however, believed he wanted the blood, the heart, and the death. And the blood wasn’t just simply some fluid from the slice of the wrist. No, they believed Bloodshed wanted the blood from where her hymen was broken.   
  
The cult was made of only men, meaning they always had to go out and kidnap virgin women from neighboring villages. It had never happened to Thornstriker’s village before, so she never worried too much about it. Now, they had attacked her village and they had chosen her to be the offering. She had never been more afraid than she was now.  
  
Suddenly, the chanting stopped, forcing her to look up. She gasped when one of the leaders grabbed her by her hair, yanking her to her feet. She screamed in pain, struggling violently against him. He spoke a language she was not familiar with, shouting at her before shoving her to the floor.   
  
Just as she hit the floor, three other men from the circle jumped down on top of her. She screamed and tried to fight them, but she was no match for their strength. One man pinned her arms down over her head while the other two grabbed her legs, keeping them pinned to the floor.  
  
“NO!” she screamed. “N-NO! P-Please! Let me go! LET ME GO!”  
  
The cult leader from before came down to the floor, slapping her hard across the face. She cried out in pain, though he drowned it out by shouting something at her. But she didn’t know what she said, making her cry harder.  
  
The leader seized the top of the light green dress she wore, ripping it down the middle. She shrieked, jerking to free herself but to no avail. Then the chanting started up, making her scream in terror as her skirt was ripped up, exposing the cloth that covered her womanhood. It wasn’t long until that came off too, making Thornstriker scream even louder in fright. No! This couldn’t be happening! She didn’t want to be raped! She didn’t want to die!   
  
“P-Please!” she begged, screaming to the night sky above her. “H-Have mercy…! Have mercy! PLEASE!”  
  
But no one showed it to her. With tears pouring down her cheeks, she could only wait for pain and for death, knowing that it was her fate and there was nothing more she could do about it. She shut her eyes tightly, tensing up as the chanting grew louder and louder, faster and faster.   
  
When she felt something hard poke at her entrance, she let out a horrified scream. She didn’t even have to look to know what it was. She wasn’t stupid. She knew.  
  
“NO! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! NOOOO!!!”  
  
A mighty roar ripped through the air, abruptly stopping the chanting and the man above her from moving inside. Thornstriker stiffened in fright, especially when she heard the roar again and one of the cult members scream in horror. The members that had held her down left her, running away and screaming. She sat up, eyes widening when she saw a jaguar, a python, and a harpy eagle inside the temple, viciously attacking the members.   
  
The python was strangling and biting at any man that came at it. The eagle was head-diving at the members, clawing into their faces with its talons and pecking their eyes out with its beak. But Thornstriker found her eyes locked on the jaguar, which was snarling and ripping into the members so viciously that she thought she would vomit from the gore and violence. She forced herself to turn over onto her side, curling up into a ball on the floor with her eyes shut tightly while trying to drown out the screams of agony from the cult members.   
  
As she lied there, shaking and whimpering softly to herself, she could hear the screams die down, bodies falling to the floor and possibly off the shrine. She didn’t dare look over. But she stiffened when she heard voices, two men and one woman. She swallowed, curling into herself more as she tried to determine where the voices were coming from. Perhaps she had gone mad? She didn’t deny the possibility.   
  
“Hey, is she okay?” she heard one of the male voices say softly.   
  
Thornstriker flinched when she realized that whoever he was had been referring to her. Her trembling grew, as did her fear. She stiffened when she heard what seemed to be like footsteps move toward her. When she felt an abnormally large hand touch her shoulder, she screamed and jerked away from it, rolling onto her back and facing whoever touched her.  
  
She paled in fright at the sight of the large dark-skinned man kneeling in front of her. Behind her were two other tall figures, a pale-skinned man and a tan-skinned woman. They were all large in size, the man in front of her being at the very least nine feet if he were to stand up completely while the man behind him was probably around 8’9 and the woman being around 7’10. Their rich clothing and red eyes told her exactly what they were.  
  
She screamed in terror, tried to scramble to her feet in hopes to run away. But the god in front of her gently seized her by the arms, keeping her on the floor as he tried to calm her down. Thornstriker still screamed anyway, twisting in his hold as she tried to get away.  
  
The female god laughed, shaking her head. “Well, she looks ready to faint. Maybe you should let her go.”  
  
The man holding her glared back at the other, growling, “Nebula, stay out of this.”  
  
She gave a laugh. “Just trying to help. After all, you did ask me and Novabomb for it earlier to save her, remember?” She pointed to the mortal, who flinched back. “I guess it was good we came though… Consider what was going to happen.”  
  
The other god joined the three, kneeling next to the dark-skinned man. “Hey, now, don’t tease him, Nebula… You know how he gets.” Then he turned to look at the trembling virgin, smiling brightly. “Hi there. I bet you’re glad we came to save you, huh?”  
  
Thornstriker was so confused and so overwhelmed that she didn’t know what to do. She just trembled in the other’s hands, weakling struggling against his grip and trying to break free. She knew about these gods. Nebula was the Goddess of Temptation while Novabomb was the God of Chaos. And, like the stories and legends went, these two and the God of Wrath, Bloodshed, were always together. Which could only mean that the god holding her was…  
  
“Can’t you talk?” Novabomb said. Then he stretched out a hand toward her, as if to seize her chin.  
  
Thornstriker screamed as loud as she could, startling the three gods and causing her to be released. She scrambled away from them, shaking her head frantically as tears poured down her cheeks. “No!” she screamed. “D-Don’t kill me! I beg of you! Don’t kill me! Please!”  
  
The three just stared at the trembling mortal before glancing at each other. Nebula sighed and stood up, resting her hands on her hips as she looked down at the woman. “Please,” she said, rolling her eyes. “If we wanted to kill you, we would have let them sacrifice you to him.” She pointed at the dark-skinned man as he and the other god slowly rose to their feet.  
  
The goddess’s words did nothing to soothe her fear. If anything, it only made it worse as Bloodshed slowly came over to her, his expression soft and his eyes locked on her. He was so big – he could kill her with the squeeze of his hand around her head. And that fact that she was coming toward her, as if to grab her, made her pale.  
  
Just as he kneeled down in front of her again, Thornstriker fainted. Bloodshed was stunned when she slumped to the ground, unconscious. He glanced over at his two friends, Novabomb just giving a shrug while Nebula gave him a look.  
  
“Really?” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “You’re surprised? If you don’t recall, these bastards were going to rape and kill her in order to ‘please’ you.” She gestured to the dead cult members on the floor.   
  
He glared at her and growled, “You know I never asked for them to do something like that.”  
  
“But you never did anything about it until she got involved.”  
  
Bloodshed went quiet and turned away from her, his expression softening when he saw the unconscious mortal on the floor. Slowly, he squatted down and gently lifted the young woman up into his arms, cradling her against his chest. He stroked over her cheek, frowning a bit when he saw it was red, obviously from a hit. He was relieved that he had gotten there on time. If he hadn’t, she probably wouldn’t be alive… He shuddered at the thought.   
  
He stood up, turning to look at his friends. “Let’s go home.”  
  
Novabomb and Nebula glanced at each other before turning back to the mortal in Bloodshed’s arms. Though they didn’t understand it, they weren’t about to question him or his reasons. They just accepted it. Besides, it wasn’t a bad thing. Just odd, considering Bloodshed hated humanity. Oh well. Life was weird that way, they supposed.

* * *

Thornstriker woke up with a startled cry, panting heavily and shaking like mad, her body having broken out into a cold sweat. She had had the most horrific dream. There were all these men surrounding her and they all took turns raping her, laughing and spitting at her face before killing stabbing her in the heart. It had felt so real too… If she didn’t know better, she would have thought it was.  
  
Shaking, she tried to settle her nerves, taking deep and controlled breaths. When she found herself calmer than before, though still shaken, she looked at her surroundings. It only made her confused and freaked out again.  
  
She was lying on a soft bed that was decorated with red sheets and fine white pillows, which were huge, as was the bed; it was made for a ruler, no doubt. Not to mention that the room itself was a large one, weaponry and art decorating the walls. She turned her head, eyes widening when she saw an open arc way leading out to a balcony as the curtains that were probably used to block the entrance were pulled back.   
  
Thornstriker glanced down at her ruined dress, only to find that she was no longer wearing it, but something else. Unlike the simple casual attire from before, she was wearing a white crop top with mesh, see-through sleeves that went down to her elbows. While her stomach remained bare, she wore a single-slit white low-wasted skirt with light green trimming that went all down to her ankles. When had she ever worn anything like this?! This was made from the finest cloth she had ever seen!  
  
Immediately, she jumped off the bed, walking over to the balcony. Just as she stepped outside though, she gasped, her eyes widening at the sight.   
  
Whatever house she was in was suspended up a river and across from an enormous waterfall. The surrounding area was a jungle landscape, unknown and magnificent creatures like brightly colored birds with horns in the skies and humanized fish in the water below coming into her vision; she had only heard about them from scripture. Across the distance, the sky was a beautiful dark blue with bright stars shining. There seemed to be no other signs of human life for miles upon miles. Not even a village could be spotted, despite being so high up.  
  
It didn’t take long for Thornstriker to realize she wasn’t in her jungle anymore.    
  
Frightened and confused, she retreated back inside the massive room and went back onto the bed. She fell onto her side, gripping the sheets tightly as fear and panic swept over her, causing her to tremble and cry softly into the sheets. Where was she?! Why was she even here?! Who had brought her here?!  
  
She was so wrapped up in fear that she didn’t hear the door open behind her. The great god paused when he saw the sobbing, trembling mortal lie on his bed, guilt stabbing at his chest. Had this been his fault? Because he hadn’t been able to protect her and allowed such a thing happen to her? He wasn’t certain.  
  
He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He gave a soft huff, which made the woman stiffen and gasp. She jerked her head in his directly, paling when she saw him. It hurt to see her look so afraid of him, but he understood. All mortals were afraid of him, which he normally preferred. But with her? No – it only made his chest hurt.  
  
“You’re up,” Bloodshed said softly, stating the obvious. Carefully, he moved toward her. “I… I’m glad. I had been worried that you wouldn’t wake up.”  
  
Thornstriker remained frozen where she lied, only pressing into the sheets as the God of Wrath drew closer to the bed. Was he the one that had brought her here? If he had, then why? She was going to be sacrificed to him anyway. Why did her have to bring her here?!  
  
“You don’t need to be scared of me,” he murmured as he sat down on the edge of the bed, keeping her within arm’s reach. “I’m not going to hurt you.”  
  
She said nothing.   
  
The god continued when he didn’t receive an answer. “I know it’s not very believable, but… I’m serious. I won’t hurt you. I would never hurt you.” He shifted himself on the bed so that he was sitting by her feet with him sitting back on his legs. “I know you’re scared, but… I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”  
  
Thornstriker just stared at him for a moment, slowly turning over on her back as neither of them took their eyes off of each other. Though he did keep saying he wouldn’t hurt her, she just couldn’t believe him. He was the God of Wrath, the god who hated all of humanity! Damn it, why did he bring her here?! Was he going to kill her?!   
  
Then she froze when she remembered what those cult members had tried to do to her. They were going to rape her and take out her heart. Had Bloodshed wanted to be the one that did that himself? Is that why he brought her to wherever they were?!  
  
Seeing that she had moved, Bloodshed slowly stretched out a hand toward her, just wanting to stroke her cheek. But the minute he had moved his hand in front of her, the mortal let out a terrified scream and even smacked his hand away, which stunned him. No mortal dared to hit a god, but she had. He didn’t know what to think.   
  
Realizing what she had done, Thornstriker seized up in horror. Oh no… She had hit him! She had hit a god, even if it was only by the hand! Now fearing for her life, she let out another scream as she scrambled to her feet, jumping off the bed and running toward the balcony.  
  
Bloodshed was shocked when she bolted, but he quickly stood up and followed after her. Before she could even get to the exit, a large hand caught her by the arm and tugged her back. She shrieked, struggling violently as she was turned around, Bloodshed kneeling down on the ground. His massive hands held her in place as they took hold of her arms and cupped her back, making escape impossible.  
  
Tears poured down her face as she shook her head violently, struggling with all her might to break from. “I-I’m sorry!” she screamed. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! B-But please! D-Don’t kill me! DON’T!”   
  
“Calm down!” he demanded, giving her gentle shakes so he wouldn’t hurt her. “I’m not going to hurt you! Just calm down!”   
  
But she didn’t, crying and trembling harder, begging for her life as she shook her head back and forth. It was as if she could no longer hear the large god talking to her. She could only feel her fear overwhelming, her mind showing her how he would punish her, slowly and brutally, for hitting him.   
  
“Please! Have mercy on me! Don’t kill me! PLEASE!”  
  
“I’m not going to hurt you!” he all but shouted, shaking her hard once. “Calm down! Thornstriker! Calm down!”  
  
The shake rattled the mortal, but she only stopped panicked once he said her name. The two of them panted heavily, staring at each other. Bloodshed just looked at her, somewhat relieved that she had calm down. She just stared up at him with wide eyes, so stunned that even her tears had stopped.   
  
How did he know her name?  
  
Bloodshed released one of her arms, gently stroking over her cheek. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “Just… Just calm down. Please… I won’t hurt you, Thornstriker. I would never hurt you.” He took his other hand away from her body, gently seizing her face. “Do you understand? I’m not going to hurt you.”  
  
Thornstriker could only give a nod, especially as he wiped the tears from her eyes.   
  
Satisfied with her answer, he slowly stood up, bringing her up with him. She let out a startled cry as she was suddenly lifted up into his chest, but she didn’t struggle. He moved her over to the bed, sitting her back down to where she had been before, soon joining her. She sat up, pulling her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs and holding them there. It was obvious that she was still afraid, but at least she wasn’t trying to run away.  
  
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “Just naturally happens, I guess, considering my appearance.” He gestured to his great, muscular body that was decorated in grand warrior attire, tattoos and scars on his back and chest. She said nothing though, looking away from him.   
  
Bloodshed huffed, deciding to change the subject. “Are you okay?”  
  
The question took her aback, making her look up at him. “Wh-Wha-”  
  
“Are you okay?” he repeated softly. “I know that they hit you, but… were they able to do anything else?”  
  
It took Thornstriker a moment, but she finally realized that Bloodshed was referring to what had happened back at the temple. She bit her bottom lip, shaking her head as she hugged herself tighter; she didn’t want to think about it.  
  
The god let out a soft breath of relief. Had anything else had happened to her, he didn’t think he would be able to forgive himself, considering that those bastards had done this in his name. Fuck, this was why he hated humans. They never asked what the gods wanted. They only did what they thought was right and at times, they were way off. He never asked virgins to be raped and murdered for his sake. Sure, he hated humans, but he never asked for their deaths to be in his name. That was just some sick ritual that cult came up with.  
  
A ritual that almost cost Thornstriker her life.   
  
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, watching as she perked up at the apology. She seemed almost disturbed that a god had apologized to a mortal, but she deserved it. It had been his fault anyway.   
  
“I… I never asked for sacrifices,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “That was just those stupid cult members came up with. I may hate humans, but I don’t need any virgin blood and hearts to appease me… Quite frankly, it’s disgusting. I… I didn’t stop them before because I saw no need to. I try not to interact with humans too much, but…”   
  
He closed his eyes, gripping the sheets tightly as he remembered how frightened Thornstriker had been inside that temple. He couldn’t recall a time he had ever been so enraged by humans before. But he shook the thought away, opening his eyes to look at the woman. “When I saw that they had grabbed you to be their next victim… I had to save you, Thornstriker. I couldn’t let them continue that sick ritual anymore… I had to save you. I wasn’t going to let you die because of something as stupid as that.”  
  
Thornstriker just stared at him, shocked by the sincerity of his words. But again. He called her by her name again. How did he know her name? She found herself less afraid of the God of Wrath just for that reason. He hated humans, so why would he bother to know her name? And from how things seem, it wasn’t just her name that he knew.  
  
“H-How…?”  
  
He titled his head, surprised that she was trying to speak to him. But he remained silent, waiting for her to speak on her own.  
  
The mortal tried again, releasing her legs from her chest and allowing them to come down. “How… How do you know my name?”  
  
Bloodshed was quiet for a moment, looking away from her. If he told her the truth, he would look like some creepy stalker. But he wasn’t about to lie to her. He would never lie to her about anything. She was just a human, some random mortal. She was so much more than that. She had always been so much more than that.  
  
“When you were sixteen years of age, a man came through your village,” he said softly.   
  
He glanced over at her, seeing her perk up and listen to him closely. So, she did remember.   
  
“He was wearing a bloody brown cloak with scars over his chest and face. Despite his injuries, no one in the village helped the man because of his appearance. They were saying that he must have been a lost soul, someone that the gods were punishing, which was why he was injured and seemingly hostile.”  
  
He watched her closely, waiting for any sign of fear or surprise. There was none, yet.   
  
“Just as he passed some of the last few huts of the village, he ran into a girl who was sitting outside alone. You looked at him, shocked to see the state he was in. But unlike the others, you did not turn him away. You… You took him into your home and took care of him.”  
  
Thornstriker stared at him, eyes wide with shock. Yes, she did remember that. Thinking about it, it probably hadn’t been wise to bring a stranger into the hut, considering that she was home alone at the time; her parents had already died and her brother had been out hunting while his new wife at the time was out somewhere, she had forgotten where. But how did Bloodshed know about the incident? Had he been watching her the entire time?   
  
“While you tended to his injuries… You talked to him,” he murmured, scooting closer to her. “You asked him where he gotten his injuries and even though he didn’t answer… You gave him food and a place to rest. Even when he never said a word to you. And you didn’t ask anything of him.”  
  
“Y-Yes,” she said, interrupting. “B-But why does that–”  
  
“And even though you had been so kind to him, he left without a word or a thank you.” He gently cupped her cheek, making her gasp. “But he… I never did forget about the kindness you showed me, Thornstriker. You… You have been the only mortal to ever show me kindness, not fear or hate.”  
  
Her eyes widened. That man… It had been Bloodshed?! Impossible! That man had been only a foot taller than her, not almost four!  
  
“Th-That… had been you?!” she squeaked, trembling a bit. “Y-You had been th-that man?!”  
  
He nodded, gently seizing her other cheek, keeping their eyes locked. She stiffened and blushed brightly, not sure what she should do at this point, considering that the Wrath God was giving her the softest look she had seen from anyone.  
  
“It was… a test,” he said softly. “I… I’m sure you know the story from scripture. I hate humanity. I despise your kind for what they did to my mother, but… My father tells me that not all humans are bad; there are good humans out there. So… I tested it. Several times. Once a year, I would walk through different villages, looking like I had gone through hell, and I would see if anyone would come to me and aid me on their own accord. No one ever did.”  
  
Why was he telling her this? Thornstriker didn’t understand, but she waited for him to continue. Hesitantly, she reached up to grip his wrists, shivering at how small her hands were compared to his.   
  
“But you… You did,” he murmured softly. “You helped me… You were kind to me… And since that day, when I would see you, you were still so kind, so modest… I wanted to protect you, help you in the way you helped me.”  
  
“I-I don’t understand,” she whimpered, pulling her face from his great hands and scooting away from him. “Wh-Why would you want to…? Where I am? Why did you bring me here?! I-I don’t understand!”  
  
“You’re in the spirit world,” he said, watching her as she backed away from him. He slowly followed her, never getting too close. He wasn’t trying to frighten her, but at the moment, it seemed no matter what he did, she would be frightened. “After my friends and I saved you… You fainted. So I brought you here, where you would be safe.” He gestured to her clothing. “And Nebula was the one that dressed you. I… I didn’t do anything to you.”  
  
Thornstriker had scooted all the way back against the headboard, gasping when she realized she couldn’t back away from him anymore. But just as he finished what he had been saying, she could only stare at him. The spirit world? And he had brought her here while his friend had changed her clothes? Now she understand how… But she still didn’t know why.  
  
“I…” she said softly, the god looking surprised that she was trying to speak. “I…” But she couldn’t find the words she wanted to say, so she said what she knew would be appropriate to her savior. “Th-Thank you.”  
  
His eyes widened. Wow, even when she was so scared, she still thanked him. Damn, she was so different from every other human. She was kind, polite – always thinking of others and treating everyone with respect and consideration. He couldn’t allow someone like her to get hurt.   
  
Bloodshed nodded to her. “You’re welcome… I only wish I could have saved you sooner.”  
  
“N-No,” she stammered. “Y-You saved me be-before anything h-horrid truly ha-happened.” Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down a bit, trying to force out what she needed to ask. She just needed an answer for everything to make sense. “I… Please… Tell me why you… why you wanted to protect me. I… I just don’t understand.”  
  
The God of Wrath was quiet for a few moments, looking down at her legs. He was never one to get nervous or tense and he had never been like this with a human. But she wasn’t just “a human.” She was so much more than that. Ever since he had met her, she had always been so much more than that.   
  
“Ple-Please,” Thornstriker whimpered, trying to sit up straight. “I just want to under-”  
  
“I love you.”  
  
The mortal froze, looking up at him with wide eyes, thinking that she had heard wrongly. Instead, she was greeted with the god’s honest eyes, looking down at her with a soft expression. The God of Wrath, who despised all of humanity, loved her? She had to have been hearing things. There was just no way!  
  
Seeing her blush and tremble, open and closing her mouth for only short and incomprehensible sounds to escape, Bloodshed lower his head and said softly, “After that day you took me into your home… I have been… watching over you in a sense. Not all the time, but… I made it a quota of mine to see you once a day, just to make sure that you were all right. And every time I saw you… You were kind. You were considerate, understanding… I just… I fell in love with you.”  
  
Thornstriker couldn’t wrap her mind around it. It was impossible! She wasn’t going to call him a liar, but it was just too hard to believe such a confession from a god that was known to loathe mortals!  
  
“You mean so much to me,” he whispered, reaching out to stroke her cheek. “Anything… I would do anything for you… To make you happy… To make you safe… It’s all because I love you, Thornstriker.”  
  
Her face lit up brightly, unsure of what to say or how to react. She only sat there, trembling as she tried to figure out what he wanted. She glanced at her clothing, noting how revealing it was. Aside from her love, he wanted her, right? Was that why he brought her here? To claim her? She trembled at the thought.  
  
“Thornstriker…” The Wrath God leaned forward, seizing the sides of her face. She gasped, freezing up when his thumbs rubbed over her lips. She flinched back, shutting her eyes tightly, much to his surprise. “Thornstriker?”  
  
“I-I can’t…!” she squeaked. “I-I know you love me…! And you’re a god, but I…! I can’t just…!”  
  
Bloodshed was confused, looking over her for a moment. She had her legs crossed and pressed into her chest. Then he understood what she was trying to say, frowning slightly. Then he shook his head; he should have expected this. Thornstriker was a pure woman, an innocent virgin. He had watched over her long enough to know that she was the type of woman who wanted to give her virginity to someone she loved.  And while he loved her, she did not love him. He wasn’t going to force her to either. That would just be… wrong.  
  
He shushed her. “I’m not going to take you,” he promised. “But… would you allow me to court you? I… I want to try. I just… I want to try having a… a relationship with you. Allow me to court you… Please.”  
  
Thornstriker’s eyes widened at the please that followed his sentence. He was serious… She simply couldn’t believe it. This was a god that hated mortals and he wanted to court her?! That didn’t make any sense!   
  
But she couldn’t tell him no. Not when he was asking her like this. Still, she couldn’t give him a verbal answer and could only nod her head.   
  
Then her eyes widened as she saw something she never thought she would see from the God of Wrath. In fact, she doubted many, if any, had seen it before at all. But she found herself enraptured by it.  
  
Still giving her that soft and almost barely noticeable smile, he murmured, “Thank you.”

* * *

Though she had agreed to court him, Thornstriker had made it clear that she wanted to go home and be with her brother Airstream and his wife Wheeljack, as they was all she had left and vice versa. Reluctantly, the god had agreed and brought her back to her village.  
  
The other villagers were relieved that nothing happened to her; Airstream had almost gone down to his knees and wept because he was so happy. Of course, everyone had grown fearful when they saw Bloodshed, in his jaguar form, behind her. Before they could all fall to the ground and bow to him, he told them that they didn’t need to worry about those cult members any longer and that he would come by every day to see Thornstriker.  
  
It was embarrassing for him to say that, especially when the villagers were confused and Airstream had been horrified. She had to explain that the god had meant that he was courting her, so he wanted to see her every day as part of this courtship.   
  
Of course, it was rather shocking to the villagers (and also mortifying for her older brother). The God of Wrath? Courting a human?! It would have been considered a joke if Bloodshed didn’t have such a frightening serious look on his face. No one would dare laugh at him, not unless they wanted to die.  
  
Airstream had rushed her home as soon as the god left. Wheeljack had been relieved to have her back, hugging her tightly and kissing her face in relief. But while Wheeljack was just glad that her sister-in-law was all right, Airstream was fuming with rage. He had always been against Thornstriker being in a relationship even though she was twenty years old, but this? This was just making his protective instincts go haywire.  
  
Thornstriker being courted by a god? And the God of Wrath no less?! He didn’t want to allow it. Not when that god was known for murdering mortals for centuries. He didn’t want her to get hurt and no matter how many times Thornstriker tried to explain to him that Bloodshed had no intentions of hurting her, he wouldn’t listen.  
  
She was lucky that Wheeljack was more understanding. While she didn’t truly get as to why Bloodshed would want to court her, she could see that Thornstriker had consented to all of this and that there was no harm being done so long as she wasn’t forced into it. Of course, Airstream didn’t agree but he could only argue for so long against his wife and sister before he lost and had to accept that Thornstriker was being courted by the God of Wrath.  
  
He didn’t have to approve of it though.   
  
That night, as Thornstriker lied in her bed and held the covers tightly to her, her mind wandered and she thought about the god.  
  
He wanted to court her. He had saved her from that cult and killed those people… because he wanted to protect her. He wanted to save her from their disgusting ritual… because he loved her. It was so strange. He hated mortals and yet… He chose her. It wasn’t as if she was the most beautiful or striking being in the world. And she wasn’t powerful or had any great strengths that would make a god admire her.  
  
She was just… kind? At least that was what it seemed to her that Bloodshed liked. Because she had helped him once all those years ago.  
  
But anyone could have done that. What she had done was nothing special. She had spotted him and thought he was in pain. How could anyone leave a person to wither in pain and bleed like that?! She had thought that if she didn’t do anything, he would have died… Of course she brought him and took care of him.  
  
She turned over on her side and faced the wall, closing her eyes as she tried to block out the moonlight that came from her window on the opposite side of the room. It was too much to think about now. Maybe whenever Bloodshed came to visit her, she could talk to him about it. She could ask him some more questions.  
  
Just as she tried to force herself to sleep, she heard something… It was quiet and swift, but it sounded like… footsteps. Very quiet ones, but footsteps nonetheless. Then she heard something jump and softly land in her bedroom.  
  
Thornstriker tensed up. Oh Primus, what was that?! Another cult? Was someone else trying to kill her now? She couldn’t even bring herself to move, staying as perfectly still as possible as her heart beat rapidly. No, no, she couldn’t do this again! But she just couldn’t move, even as the footsteps came closer and closer to her…  
  
Something brushed against her hair. Fingers… Very large fingers, gently running through her hair. Oh, who could it have-?!  
  
“Good night, Thornstriker.”  
  
Her eyes popped open, but she didn’t move just yet, not even when the fingers disappeared from her hair. Wait… That was… No, no, it couldn’t have been. Could it-?  
  
She finally turned and sat up in her bed, just as she saw a long black tail slip out of her bedroom through the window. It had been him. Bloodshed… had wished her good night.  
  
With her cheeks bright red, she lied back down on the bed and threw her hands over her face. This was real. The God of Wrath was really courting her. Bloodshed… loved her. Dearly. And he just wanted to be with her. For how long, she could only guess, but his feelings were genuine. A god who hated all humans loved a lowly insignificant mortal like her. Well, all humans except for her.   
  
She would be too embarrassed and flustered to sleep that night.


End file.
